Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 61,179 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $3,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $76,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.2 %

PFS opened at $18.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.04. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $19.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.95.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.